


The Best Intentions

by DragonSilk



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Bad Matchmaking, Comedy of Errors, Dating, F/M, Friendship, Light Angst, POV Second Person, Pining, Reader-Insert, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2019-10-29 10:12:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17806100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSilk/pseuds/DragonSilk
Summary: Mokuba Kaiba is determined to find his brother someone to love... or at least someone to date. Someone who can distract him from his work and inspire him to take better care of himself.It's not an easy task, so Mokuba decides that he needs the help of his best friend.You want nothing to do with that plan. It's dumb, and silly, and doomed to fail......and your heart breaks every time you think of Seto Kaiba falling in love with someone else.Seto Kaiba/Reader(Embrace the cliche of a romantic comedy with me~)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Look... I honestly have no defense for myself. None. 
> 
> But I need a pure, cliche, fluffy romance right now, and if you're on board with that, come along for the ride! :) There will be hijinks! 
> 
> Hopefully I'm able to add my own little twists to all the cliche stuff I'm going to be working with. If not, I hope you all still enjoy it~

“What kind of girl do you think my brother likes?”

You looked up from your textbook to give Mokuba a raised eyebrow. “Girls? I was under the impression that your brother went for something with scales.”

“Ha. Ha,” Mokuba deadpanned. “But seriously! I’m trying to come up with a list of things he’d like… and it’s really hard.”

If you knew what Seto Kaiba liked in a woman… well, you’d make good use of that information. You frowned, pretending to think about it. As if you didn’t ponder on it all too often. “Blue eyes?” Mokuba started writing, and you almost felt bad about where you were going with this. “Very, very fair skin. Like white. Let’s just say white like a crayon. Wings. She’s gotta have wings.”

You grinned as Mokuba stopped writing to glare at you. He tore the page out of his notebook, balled it up, and threw it at you. You knocked the paper ball off to the side and watched it hit the ground. Then you leaned forward. “You’d better get that before someone takes a picture of you littering.”

“You’re the worst friend.” He got up to grab the paper before shoving it into his bag, presumably to throw it away later when his bag was too full of trash to function.

You didn’t want to ask why Mokuba wanted you to speculate on what his brother liked. Showing too much interest in his brother might tip Mokuba off to the very secret fact that you were way too interested in his brother. At the same time, you really wanted to know. “Why are you trying to figure out what your brother might like anyway?” You looked back down at your textbook, pretending to work, pretending that you didn’t really care about the answer.

“He needs someone.”

You were alert. “He said that?”

“No.” Mokuba shrugged. “But he’s so obsessed with work right now. And now that I’m not home as much, I don’t think he’s eating. I think having a girlfriend would be good for him.”

You looked around the library as you leaned on the table. Nobody seemed to be in earshot, but you didn’t want to be the cause of the next trashy article. You gestured for Mokuba to lean closer to you. “Do you even know if he’s into _girls_?” After all, his obsession with that Yugi Mutou person hadn’t been too fabricated in the papers… You’d always wondered.

“Well, shit.” Mokuba threw his pen down on the table as he leaned back. “No. I mean, I assume he is… but he’s never… well, I’ve never seen him with anyone.” He looked around at the library. “I think I may need your help.”

“Help setting your brother up with someone? I don’t have a death wish.” You also really didn’t want to. Mokuba couldn’t have come up with a crueler task.

“Please?” Mokuba gave you his best puppy eyes. “I know that you don’t really care about my brother, but do it for me? I’m really worried about him.”

“No, Mokuba. No.” You stared him down, unmoved by the eyes he was making. He was wrong about why you wouldn’t help. “I don’t have time to go searching for a magic unicorn that could tempt Seto Kaiba. Take him to a bar or something.”

“You know he would never.”

You nodded. You did know that. It was why you’d suggested it. “I don’t know what to tell you, Mokuba. Buy him a puppy?” You checked the time. It wasn’t time for your next class, but you couldn’t let Mokuba convince you to help him. You needed out of this conversation. “I’ve gotta head across campus for my next class. I’ll see you later.” You piled all your stuff into your bag.

“Yeah. I’m picking you up tonight?”

You stared at him for a moment, and then you remembered that your roommates were having a party tonight. The joys of finishing midterms early. “I guess.” You weren’t in the mood for more of Mokuba trying to matchmake his brother, but you’d be able to study and sleep at his place.

He grinned, probably planning all the ways he could convince you to help him in his dumb quest. “Okay. See you at seven or do you want to have dinner together?”

“No. Seven is fine.” You shouldered your bag. “Bye.” It was hard to pretend you weren’t upset, and your goodbye came out snappier than you intended. You hurried away before Mokuba could say anything. Hopefully he would forget by tonight.

Later that night, you threw an overnight bag into Mokuba’s backseat and hoped he would have moved on to a new subject.

“I tried talking to Seto’s assistant today. She didn’t know anything either.”

Well that would be a no. “Mokuba, if you don’t know anything about your brother’s preferences… literally nobody else will.” Maybe if you hammered the point home enough Mokuba would give up on this. “If he isn’t interested in dating, you won’t be able to convince him otherwise. Maybe he’s happy with the way things are.”

“He’s not happy!”

You grabbed the door as Mokuba revved the engine and cut around another driver. You knew that Mokuba worried too much about his brother. It was normal for Mokuba to get distressed anytime he really talked about him. You wanted to be a good friend and help Mokuba out.

But his plan was dumb on so many levels, and you refused to go along with it.  

“Did something happen recently?” you asked, wondering if something had triggered this.

“He’s…” Mokuba sighed. “It’s a long story.”

That was code for ‘it’s a story I won’t tell you’. You were used to Mokuba being private about his brother, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. “Well, let me know if you want to talk about it.”

“I do want to talk about how we can find people for him to meet.”

“Fair.” You shifted in the seat, trying to think of ways to turn this conversation to anything else. “When did this turn into finding people for him though? I’m not sure your brother is the harem type.”

“No. But you’re right that I don’t know his type. So I was thinking maybe if I found different people that I think he’d like… I could set him up on dates and maybe one would work out?”

Multiple people… all on dates with Seto Kaiba… You felt your stomach roll at the thought. “Now you sound like some sort of matchmaker.” You tried to keep your tone light. It was a joke. You were joking about this. You weren’t feeling sick at the thought. Not at all.

And Mokuba chuckled. “Hopefully I will be.”

You told yourself it would all be pointless in the end. Seto Kaiba didn’t like people. Mokuba couldn’t find anyone to interest his brother.

Mokuba began talking about things he thought his brother would appreciate. Intelligence was, obviously, the biggest thing he would look for, but he also thought his brother might enjoy having someone with the same interests as him. You gave him just enough of a response to keep him babbling on as you tried to turn your face into stone. You did not need to give away your pathetic feelings on the matter.

When Mokuba pulled into his driveway, you felt relief. Finally this conversation could end! “Don’t you have a midterm tomorrow, too?”

“Yeah, but it’s no big deal.”

This was one of those times where his ability to just get good grades made you jealous. “Well, help me study then. You can quiz me.”

“Wait, let me get that!” Mokuba rushed around the car to grab your things before you could get them out of the backseat. "I can’t let a lady carry this heavy bag!”

You just rolled your eyes. Protesting was pointless, so you followed Mokuba into the mansion and up to the guest bedroom that had become your usual place to stay. “I still think you should move in with us,” he said as he dropped your things on the bed.

“Yeah, I can’t afford the rent on a place like this.” Also, you would be so uncomfortable living under the same roof as Seto Kaiba… if he even allowed it to happen.

“Free? You can’t afford free?”

“Nope. I’m that poor. Besides, what if you start dating the beautiful Tris? I can’t imagine she’d like you living with some other woman.” You grabbed your textbook and your laptop. “Library? You are going to help me study, right?”

“Yeah… um… speaking of Tris…” Mokuba looked off to the side and rubbed one of his shoulders. “She kind of… we have a date tonight doyoumindifIditchyouforabit?”

“Mokuba you jerk! When were you going to tell me?!” You felt the urge to throw something at him, but the objects in your hands were too heavy. His guilty expression told you he’d intended to keep it a secret. “No! Were you just going to go to the bathroom for a few hours again?”

“I mean it was an idea‒”

“I THOUGHT YOU WERE SERIOUSLY SICK!”

He held out his hands. “Jeez. Calm down.”

“No!” What a jerk. You’d wandered around the mansion for a good thirty minutes concerned that he needed you to call someone for help only to find out that he’d snuck out on you. You were still mad about it. “What am I supposed to do without you?! Twiddle my thumbs?”

“Study? I thought you had a lot of work to do for your midterms?” He grinned, but you didn’t return the smile. “C’mon,” he begged, “you would have pretended to find somewhere else to stay if I’d told you, and I don’t want you falling asleep in the school library.”

“Fine.” You turned around with a huff. “I’ll just be here looking for the best blackmail material to sell.” You stormed off to the library knowing he would follow.

He popped up next to you, easily keeping up with his longer legs. “I think you have plenty of sellable material at this point.”

You just glared at him. “Maybe your brother would like to know some of it.”

Mokuba just laughed, knowing full well that you knew the real story of what happened to the Blue Eyes Jet. “I doubt he’ll be home anytime tonight but good luck.”

Well, that was good news at least. You could avoid making a fool of yourself if Seto Kaiba weren’t here.

Then again… it was hard to resist the impulse to raid his room for a t-shirt like the lunatic that you were... “You really shouldn’t trust me alone here,” you mused aloud.

Mokuba shrugged. “I mean we have security so it’s not like you can do too much damage.”

Right. Security. How could you ask where the cameras were located without seeming suspicious? Surely there weren’t any in the bedrooms…

“They could see if I snuck into your room and shredded all your clothes?”

He scoffed. “We both know you wouldn’t.”

Well, that didn’t answer the question at all. “If I don’t, it’s only because you can easily afford more.”

As the two of you entered the Kaiba library, you looked around and took a deep breath. This room never failed to make you feel both joy and envy at the same time. It had walls and walls of books with couches and desks to choose from. There was even a massive window with its own bench to relax on. The only thing missing was a fireplace.

Well… and someone to snuggle up to as you read… but honestly, that was so far removed from possible reality that you weren’t sure it could even be called a fantasy.

“Ok. I guess you can leave now if you need to,” you said as you spread your stuff out across a desk.

Mokuba checked his phone. “No, it’s cool. I still have some time before our date.” He sat down in one of the chairs with a grin. “I’m taking her to that place with the rooftop bar but our reservation isn’t until a little later.”

“Oooooh fancy.” Now this was a conversation you could get behind. You slid into a chair next to Mokuba. “When did you get the guts to ask her out? And how come I didn’t get a text immediately?”

“Uh, it only just happened today actually. I ran into her when I was leaving the library, and she actually recognized me!”

You rolled your eyes. Who wouldn’t recognize Mokuba?

“No, she recognized me from our class!” he defended, apparently able to read your mind. “She asked me about the midterm, and we started talking. She said she was done with midterms so I asked her to come celebrate with me tonight.”

“Nevermind that you aren’t done,” you interrupted.

He just waved a hand at you. “She said yes! So I called that place and begged for a reservation.”

“It is a nice place for a date. What are you planning to wear?”

“Jeans and a dress shirt?” He winked.

You gave him a thumbs up. “You’ve been learning, and you’re picking her up yes?”

He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “You think you have to ask.”

You lifted your hands in surrender. “Sorry. You were just such a caveman when we met.” You sighed. “I guess you probably should get ready though.” You looked at the books that you didn’t want to open and then back at Mokuba. “Can I help?”

He just shrugged. “I only need to change shirts really, but you can tell me what you think of my plans for the date.” He led you off to his room, filling you in on the rest of his plan as you used him to put off studying. It was nice to have him distracted away from the subject of his brother, and you encouraged him by letting him know his plan was a good one. After all, a romantic dinner on a rooftop terrace surrounded by twinkle lights? Tris would melt. You knew that you would.

As Mokuba got dressed in his walk-in closet, you noticed a pink thing sitting on top of his display case. Curious, you stood up and pulled it off to unfold it for a better look. It was a pink jacket that you didn’t think would fit Mokuba.

“What’s this?” you asked as he emerged from the closet.

Disgust took over his face. “Ugh, Lily left it here last time I saw her.”

“Oh.” You dropped the jacket as if it had a disease. That shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Both of you had blocked her number after she had repeatedly tried to convince Mokuba to date her again. But that had been months ago. “Why do you still have it?”

He shrugged. “I just haven’t tossed it out yet, I guess. I dunno. I didn’t really even realize it.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Can you just throw it in the trash in my bathroom?”

“Sure.” You scooped up the jacket and carried it into his massive bathroom. As you dumped it into the trash, you hoped Mokuba wasn’t still hurt from that particular breakup. It had been nasty.

On your way out, you grabbed his brush. “Tame your hair,” you ordered as you tossed the brush to Mokuba.

He scoffed but used the brush anyway. You assessed his outfit. It was basic, but he looked good in it. Other than his hair, he didn’t need anymore work to look nice. “I guess I better actually get to work then?”

Mokuba grinned and stopped brushing his hair to stride over and give you a hug. “You know you won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You hugged him back and then pulled away. “Just do us both a favor and don’t bring her back here tonight.”

“I’m offended. You know I’m too classy for that.”

“HOPEFULLY you’re too wary of strangers for that, but you keep leaving me alone here so I don’t know if that’s true.”

“Please. You’re family at this point, and I’d give you a key if you would take it.”

“A symbolic key?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, well.” You gave him a once-over look again. “Have fun.”

“Thanks. You too.” He winked at you.

You retreated to the library, able to make your way around the Kaiba mansion alone with ease, and made yourself comfortable. You appreciated the fact that Mokuba was willing to just leave you alone in his home even if you protested that he shouldn’t be so trusting. You set up your books and computer on the table and played music since you were alone in the library (and other than the staff, probably the entire mansion). At some point, a maid came by and provided you with tea to keep you going, and you found yourself getting a lot of work done.

When the door opened much later in the evening, you looked up with a grin, expecting it to be Mokuba back from a victorious date. Your grin faded once you saw Seto Kaiba standing in the doorway.

He stared at you for a moment with a frown before striding into the room and looking around. The frown on his face deepened. Then he looked back at you. “Where is Mokuba?”

“Um. Uh.” You hated yourself for stumbling over nonsense words as you tried to figure out what to tell him. Should you tell him Mokuba was on a date? “I… um, he… stepped out? To get something?” The words all came out as uncertain questions, and you knew that Seto Kaiba was currently judging you as an idiot. But at least that ship had sailed a long time ago, and you didn’t think you had any chance of proving otherwise to him.

Even as Seto Kaiba pinned you with a frown, you couldn’t help but notice that he looked terrible. The bags under his eyes were so deep that he almost looked like he’d been punched. His hair looked unwashed, and his clothing was wrinkled. When was the last time he’d done anything to take care of himself?

You understood why Mokuba was worried.

Then Kaiba grunted at you and left without another word. You watched him leave, wondering if he even knew your name. If he did, he never used it.

After he left, you couldn’t focus on your work. You were too unsettled by Kaiba’s appearance. Even if he sometimes looked like he didn’t remember what sleep was, Seto Kaiba had never looked so messy. He was a man who cared about appearances and looked down on sloppy people.

You gave up trying to get anything else done tonight and checked the time. Mokuba’s date must have been going well if he was still out. Well, he would know where to find you. You left your books and notes on the table, fully intending to return back to work here in the morning, and carried your laptop back to your room.

As you walked past Kaiba’s room, you noticed that there wasn’t a light shining under the door. You hesitated, wondering if he was asleep. Then you looked both ways to see if anyone was in the hallway. Nobody was around so you pressed your ear to the door. You knew you were acting weird, but you couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in that room.

You stroked the handle of the door, but you weren’t brave enough to turn it. Maybe another time.

Hopefully you never would. You didn’t think you could look Mokuba in the eyes knowing you took advantage of his friendship to creep on his brother.

In your guest room, you curled up in the bed thinking about Seto Kaiba in a similar bed only a few rooms over. Mokuba knew his brother better than anyone, but surely he was wrong about his brother just needing to find someone to date.

And if Seto Kaiba needed a girlfriend, why couldn’t it be you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the flow for this wasn't all messed up? I haven't been writing lately and this turned out much more dialogue heavy than I wanted. But at the same time I wanted to establish the relationship Mokuba and the Reader have with each other, and I imagine them as having a lot of very "quick" conversations with the back-and-forth you see sometimes in long-time friends. Hopefully I was able to convey that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for coming along on this ride with me! 
> 
> I'm tempted to have some short "interlude" chapters that are basically snippets of the past. Something to help ground the relationship that Mokuba and Kaiba and the reader have. Yes there's interest or no stick to the story? (Or yes this feels needed? Or no, not needed but do whatever?) 
> 
> I mean we'll see, but I'd be interested in hearing other people weigh in on the idea. 
> 
> Enjoy~

When you caved in and agreed to help Mokuba with his plan, you never expected him to actually have a plan of action. You figured you would “help” for long enough for him to feel like the entire thing was pointless and then try to find another way to help his brother.

You didn’t expect him to drag you to the campus Duel Monsters club.

“They all have a shared interest with my brother!” he’d said.

Well, sure they did, and by that logic, you should go around meeting all the MBA candidates, too.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” was the only response you received to that suggestion.

In the end, you caved to Mokuba’s insane plan, and joined him in checking out the Duel Monsters club members. The club met up in one of the lecture halls on a weekly basis, and when you walked in with Mokuba, the two of you sat toward the back of the room. You watched as people noticed Mokuba Kaiba and then they began pointing him out.

You leaned over to whisper to Mokuba, “Maybe I should have come alone. These people seem interested in you.”

“That’s how we weed out the groupies.”

You frowned but gave him a nod.

The meeting started with announcements and some information about some upcoming tournament. You looked down at the list of questions that Mokuba had given you. Could finding someone for Seto Kaiba really be so simple?

Once the announcements ended, the social hour of dueling and comparing cards and discussing strategy began. You moved away from Mokuba and let him attract people.

Before you had time to decide who to approach first, you found yourself approached by the leader of the club. At least, you assumed he was the leader since he had been doing the announcements. He held out his hand and welcomed you to the club.

“Have you been playing the game long?” he asked.

The truth came out before you had time to think. “Just a little while, but I’m not very good.” You left out the part where you had tried picking it up to attract the attention of a certain CEO.

“How could that be true? I noticed you came in with Mokuba Kaiba.”

You wanted to laugh, Mokuba knew how to play Duel Monsters, but didn’t love it like his brother. He had other games that he preferred. “I guess I’m just not smart enough for the game.” Or rich enough to really invest in the cards needed for an amazing deck.

“Well some of our members enjoy teaching others. Let me know if you want me to introduce you to any of them.”

His statement sounded like a goodbye, but as he turned away, you reached out and put a hand on his arm, stopping him. “Actually, I’d love to know, who’s the best player here?”

“That would be me.” He winked. “But I’m not accepting students.”

“Oh what a shame!” Well, he had the arrogance to go with it, but you would verify that statement with other members of the group. You wrote his name down in your notebook. Since you couldn’t assume Kaiba was into women, you might as well get some options from both genders. “Thanks for your time!”

You stepped away from him, eyeing the rest of the club members.

There was a girl that you couldn't help but notice. You weren't sure if your eyes gravitated toward her because she was beautiful or because of her outfit. Either way, you could see her standing next to Kaiba.

And you hated the image.

You recognized the ugly emotion that you were feeling. Envy. If you looked like that, Kaiba might notice you. But knowing that your feelings were shameful didn't stop you from deciding to avoid the girl. She was paying far too much attention to Mokuba anyway. (A little voice pointed out that she wasn't paying very much attention at all compared to most of the people here, but you firmly squashed that voice.)

Now the girl currently involved in a duel looked promising. Her hair was tied up, and she seemed to be ignoring anything beyond the cards in front of her. Kaiba could appreciate an attitude like that.

You approached the duel. It was easy to pretend to be interested in the game when you were trying to figure out if this girl was any good. You smiled at the other people watching the game, sizing them up. They might be contenders as well.

Then Mokuba broke away from the group surrounding him and approached the girl you’d noticed earlier. Darn. He’d noticed her, too. He smiled, and she smiled back at him.

You tried to refocus on the duel, but your eyes kept drifting Mokuba’s way.

They were laughing!

You looked around for someone else. Anyone else. An alternative to that badass Kaiba bait. You focused on a cute girl with bows in her hair. She was pretty.

So you approached her with a smile, intent on introducing yourself, but as you got closer, you overheard her conversation. She was telling the girl next to her about her boyfriend. Well, a girl with a boyfriend… that was big nope.

You retreated before getting her attention and turned back to the duel. It was almost over, and you felt like the serious girl might be your best bet so far.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Mokuba approach with his new friend. You turned toward him, avoiding eye contact with the girl next to him.

Mokuba gestured to her, forcing you to look over. “This is Machiko!”

“Nice to meet you!” She smiled, and you hated to admit that she was even prettier up close.

You smiled back, but before you could say anything, Mokuba said, “I’ve invited her over to the mansion to check out the duel system that we’ve got.”

You raised an eyebrow at Mokuba. Was he going to go after her himself?

He caught your expression and shook his head. “You know, during that gaming party we’re throwing?”

You’d play along, but you weren’t sure if he was really planning a party. “Oh, yeah. That.” You turned to Machiko with a smile. “You should totally come to that.”

She pushed her long hair back over her shoulders. “I guess now that midterms are over it would be nice to get out.” She looked at you and then Mokuba. “I was just telling Mokuba that I’m in my first year here, and I haven’t had the chance to meet anyone yet.”

You looked at her outfit. She looked like she’d just stepped out of a fashion magazine with her high heeled boots and belted sweater dress. Bangles chimed every time she moved, and her makeup looked professionally done. You would assume that she or her parents had serious money. “Where’d you go to school before Domino?” you asked.

She waved a hand. “Oh, nowhere local, but Domino U is such a good school I was surprised I even got in.”

You wanted to interrogate her more, but the duel that you’d been watching ended in a victory for the girl. “Mokuba, you should invite them too,” you told him, nodding toward the girl specifically.

He made a face, clearly second-guessing your opinion, and you glared at him. Then he rolled his eyes as if to say, fine, I’ll waste my time with her. “Yeah, absolutely.”

Once Mokuba walked over to the others, Machiko moved closer to you. “Can we exchange numbers?”

“Sure.” You got your phone out, surprised that she would want your number. Was this just a ploy to then get Mokuba’s number?

The two of you exchanged each other’s numbers, giving you the chance to get her last name. You’d creep on her over the internet later. Then she surprised you by putting her phone away without asking for Mokuba’s number.

She looked over to where Mokuba was talking with the two people who had been dueling. “Are you and Mokuba dating?”

“Ugh, no.” The truth came out before you could really consider your answer. Then you thought about why she was asking. Could you let her go after Mokuba thus ruining any chance that she might catch Kaiba’s eye?

“Oh, are you related then?”

“No just friends.” You gave in to your better impulse. “He did recently start seeing someone though.” You studied her face for a reaction. “Just in case you were thinking about it.”

She laughed. “I suppose it did sound like I was interested.”

“You’re not?”

“Not my type.”

You didn’t believe her, but since she was a stranger, you let the subject drop. Besides, you had more digging to do. There had to be something that made her incompatible for Seto Kaiba. “Do I hear an accent?”

She covered her mouth, surprised. “Maybe. I did spend part of my childhood abroad.”

Oh. Well, that was no good. You would probably find a beautiful instagram with thousands of followers. She probably had lots of experience with different cultures and spoke multiple languages fluently.

She was a nightmare.

You didn’t have energy for socializing anymore. “Well, it was nice meeting you!”

“Yes! I’ll text you.”

You just smiled at her before turning away to grab Mokuba. Now that he had the perfect girl for his brother, surely the two of you could leave. Instead of crashing his conversation, you stopped short of the group and caught his eye. Once Mokuba was looking at you, you pointed your thumb toward the door. It was a silent, _can we leave_?

He shook his head. Rude.

So you ditched him. You didn’t need to stick around for the rest of his social act. The questions that he’d given you had been dumb anyway. He probably hadn’t even bothered asking Machiko a single one.

He caught up to you soon after you left, which meant he must have noticed you leaving. “Party tonight!” he announced, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

“Is that when you told Machiko to come over?”

“Not just her! I invited plenty of other people, too. Gotta give Seto some options, right?”

“I guess…” you said. “Machiko is really pretty though.”

“Jealous?”

“NO!” Your answer came out too quickly and was far too loud. You hadn’t meant to shout. You backpedaled. “I don’t have anything to be jealous about. She’s not in the running to be your best friend.”

The arm wrapped around your shoulders squeezed you, pulling you in closer to Mokuba. “You’ll always be my favorite.”

You leaned your head into his chest. “You too.”

And then he had to ruin the moment. “Now time for a party!”

You groaned. You knew you would end up attending the party, but that didn’t stop you from wanting to whine about it first.

“Also, you’re part of my plan to get Seto there.”

You stopped walking. Your head twisted so you could glare at Mokuba. “No. Nope. Never going to work. No. Hard pass.”

“It’s a perfect plan. Listen…”

So you let Mokuba convince you that he had a great plan. Of course, Mokuba was able to convince anyone of anything. Knowing how he worked should make you immune, but it didn’t.

And that was how you found yourself knocking on the door to Kaiba’s home office later in the evening. He called out for Mokuba to come in, and you assumed that applied to you too and opened the door.

You leaned into the doorway, poking your head around the partially open door. “Hi, um, sorry to bother you. Uh…”

He looked up at you, and you tried not to melt when you saw the glasses perched on his nose. Somehow those glasses were attractive on him. He arched an eyebrow. “Where’s Mokuba?”

“He’s not here, and I… oh…” This was so uncomfortable. You felt like you were one word away from incomprehensible stuttering. “He said I could try out the demo, but I think I did something wrong. I tried calling and Mokuba isn’t answering. There’s smoke?” You wanted to run as you watched a scowl take over Kaiba’s face. “I’msosorry!” You resisted the urge to bow, but your hands found their way to your thighs.

“Remind me why my brother allows you to roam around unsupervised?”

His sharp question made you flinch. You weren’t a disobedient pet. He held up his hand, palm out as if to stop you from speaking. With his other hand, he pinched the bridge of his nose. His eyes shut for a moment.

Then he removed his glasses and dropped them on the desk. “Fine.” He stood up. As he walked out of the room and down the hall, he didn’t even glance your way. Nobody made you feel small like he did, but as you followed him to the gaming room, you still found yourself studying him as discreetly as you could.

When he pushed open the doors to the gaming room and saw Mokuba with a small crowd gathered around the dueling station, he turned to shoot you the dirtiest glare.

“I really am sorry,” you said.

He turned to leave, but it was too late, Mokuba had spotted him and was coming over to physically grab his brother. “Seto! So glad you could make it. Meet my new friends from the Duel Monsters club…”

Mokuba pulled him away, relying on his brother’s desire to keep him happy. However, Kaiba was a ticking time bomb. He would tolerate Mokuba’s nonsense for only so long before losing patience. So Mokuba led him straight to Machiko to start off.

Machiko, for her part, seemed to panic. You watched with growing curiosity as Machiko’s eyes roamed around as if she were looking for an escape route. It was unexpected. The girl in the skintight dress with red lipstick and perfectly done hair seemed to want to get as far away from Kaiba as possible.

In her heels, she was almost Kaiba’s height.

They looked good together, but he barely looked her way.

Then she was backing away from the Kaiba brothers. Mokuba seemed to try to keep her talking but she was shaking her head. Then Machiko beelined straight for you.

She grabbed your arm and looked back over her shoulder at the Kaibas. “Was that what I think it was?”

“A rare meeting with the great and powerful Seto Kaiba?”

She just stared at you, and her stare told you that she was on to your bullshit. “Mokuba just introduced me as if we’ve been friends for years,” she drawled. “Years.”

Mokuba must have gone over the top again. He clearly hadn’t heard a word you’d said earlier. “Interested?”

She scoffed. “Still not my type. Rich men make terrible husbands.”

“You know from experience? And husband?”

She just shrugged as if it should be obvious why she would make such a statement.

You had to wonder how much of Machiko was real and how much was an act. You’d helped Mokuba creep on her prior to the party, and just like you expected, she had an Instagram full of beautiful travel shots. Her family had money. She should be gravitating toward the Kaibas. 

“So how many failed marriages have you had so far then?”

She smiled at you. “Four, but who’s counting?” She giggled, and you couldn’t help but join her.

Then you looked over at Kaiba and Mokuba. Kaiba’s patience seemed to be wearing thin. You could tell from the sneer on his face that he had either said something rude or was about to say something rude. Either way, he was going to storm out of the party within the next ten minutes.

Machiko still seemed to want to talk, and you were pretty sure that you’d missed part of the conversation, but you excused yourself, pretending that you had to use the bathroom. Then you left the party.

You didn’t have the nerve to go inside Kaiba’s office when he wasn’t around so you waited in the hallway outside the door. Sure enough, you didn’t have to wait long before he stormed down the hall. He paused to glare at you once he noticed your existence. “Your friends or Mokuba’s?”

“Neither.” It was the truth.

He scoffed, and then walked past you and into his office. He left the door open, and you took that as an invitation to join him. As you settled into one of Mokuba’s couches, you wondered if there was any way to ask Kaiba about those bags under his eyes. Was he unable to sleep or choosing not to sleep? Was it stress? He looked less unwashed today but his face still seemed a little zombie-like.

Instead, you stole a book off of Kaiba’s bookshelf and settled into the couch to read. Mokuba would find you here easily enough once he’d ended the “party”.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KAIBA~ 
> 
> I'm sure everyone knew I was going to update something on his birthday. :) 
> 
> Please forgive me for errors. I'm currently sick so my editing capabilities are limited. D:
> 
> Also, I'd like to note that I will be using the Japanese school schedule for this fic for reasons. 
> 
> Enjoy~

As you glared at Mokuba, you tried to communicate that he was a gigantic pest who should go away. “You’re going to get me fired,” you hissed at him.

He just waved his hand as if that wasn’t an important concern. “You didn’t respond to my texts!” 

“I’m. Working!” You looked around to see if any of your co-workers were giving you dirty looks yet. They were looking in your direction, but that could just be because Mokuba Kaiba was standing at the register. “You’re going to get me fired, Mokuba.” 

He scoffed. “It’s a Kaiba Corp. owned building. I think you’ll be ok.” 

Your eyes narrowed. "Are you going to admit that you got me this job?"

"I keep telling you I didn't."

You didn't believe him. One day he would cave and admit that you only had a job in this coffee shop thanks to him. “Well, if you didn’t get me hired, you can’t guarantee that I won’t be fired for standing around and chatting.” 

“Ok. Give me a passionfruit tea.” 

Glaring the entire time, you rang up his drink. You wrote, “Go away Mokuba,” on the cup before mixing him his tea. Once it was done, you put it down on the counter for him. “I spit in it,” you said. It was a lie, but he would understand the point.

Mokuba just shrugged as he took a sip. Then, he asked, “Can you talk to me now?” 

“No. I’m on the clock.”

“I’m just a chatty customer.” He turned to gesture at the near-empty coffee shop. “There’s no one here now anyway.” 

He had a point. If he left, you would just start wiping down the counters and tables anyway. He could talk to you while you did that. “Fine. Give me a sec.” You grabbed the cleaning spray and a rag from the back before stepping out from behind the counter so you could start cleaning. Mokuba joined you, standing next to you as you sprayed down the first table. 

“So… Seto promised to eat dinner with me tonight.” 

“Great,” you said before Mokuba could continue. “Enjoy dinner with your brother.” 

Mokuba glared at you, but you didn’t know what he was expecting. You still weren’t on board with the “Set Up Seto Kaiba” program. You finished wiping down the table, able to feel his glare but perfectly immune to it. Once you were done, you looked up and let him watch as you rolled your eyes. 

Then you said, “But really, you could get him to down a bottle of wine, and he would pass out. It’d be an easier way to get him to sleep than trying to find someone he would…” You trailed off, not wanting to make a comment about Kaiba having sex with someone. You sighed. “Fine. I’m listening.” 

“Great! So I was thinking maybe you could come over with Machiko, and the two of you could eat with me and Seto?” 

Machiko, again. “I don’t think your brother was interested. They barely spoke.” It was hard to dislike her, she’d sent you a cute text this morning, but Mokuba’s fixation made it hard to like her. 

“Exactly!” Mokuba waved off your concern. “They need some one-on-one time!” 

You smacked the table with the rag as you wiped it clean. “She’s just some pretty, rich girl. I’m sure you could find another.” 

“You know she’s ranked in Duel Monsters?” 

Curse words tumbled through your head, and you bit your lip to keep them in. Of course she was good at Duel Monsters. “How do you know that?” 

“I looked her up.” 

You knew this was turning into a fight you couldn’t win. “I don’t think your brother cares unless they’re ranked as number one.” 

“Why don’t you like her?” 

Mokuba’s question shouldn’t have caught you off guard, but it did. You continued to wipe down tables without a response, but he followed you around, waiting you out. You caved, saying, “I don’t dislike her.” 

Mokuba wouldn’t let that answer slide. “But you don’t think she’s a good match for Seto. Why?” 

You had no answer for that. She was an excellent match for Seto Kaiba. Beautiful, good at dueling, and as far as you could tell, extremely nice. “She said your brother isn’t her type.” That was true enough. So there. (Even if you felt like she might be lying about that.) 

“Yeah, but she doesn’t know him. Seto is great! She just needs to come over for dinner tonight and they can talk about Duel Monsters, and then they can duel, and then Seto will want to spend time with her…” 

You glanced over at Mokuba to find a smile on his face. At least one of you would be happy with that outcome. “Well, it sounds like you don’t need me then.” You couldn’t be present for any of that without giving yourself away. You weren’t proud of yourself, but you might be tempted to see if Machiko had hair extensions… so you could rip them out. 

“No, I need you to bring Machiko over.” He pulled your phone out of his pocket. “I uh, kind of had to ask her to hang out as you… She told me she was busy!” He frowned and muttered something under his breath. 

You snatched your phone out of his hands. “Excuse me? When did you steal this?” You unlocked your phone and checked your texts with Machiko to figure out how much damage Mokuba had done. “Well, I guess I  **am** in the market for a new friend now.” You were also done wiping down tables. 

“Sorry, but you said you’d help, and I could tell Machiko liked you more than me.” 

“Stop it, Mokuba.” You couldn’t talk to him right now without saying something you would regret. His desire to meddle in everyone’s life had always been a problem, but you thought that he had moved beyond just doing whatever he wanted. “We’ll talk later.” Ignoring his protests, you went back behind the counter. 

He got the hint this time and left. 

By the time your shift was over, your phone had numerous apology texts from Mokuba. Angry didn’t begin to cover your many emotions. There was a bit of betrayal in there, too. Mokuba knew your phone’s password, and you knew his, but that didn’t mean that he was allowed to just use your phone. 

That didn’t mean he could pretend to be you in his quest to set up his brother with someone who wasn’t you. Someone you could never ever be. 

But Machiko wasn’t to blame, and you would feel bad standing her up after seeing her text exchange with Mokuba-as-you. You texted her, asking if she could meet earlier than planned since you were starving. 

She agreed and suggested meeting at a cafe that was just off campus and close enough to be a short walk from your apartment. 

You stopped at home, wanting to change out of your work clothes, and found Mokuba sitting on your bed, waiting for you. He had a key, but you never expected him to just show up and wait for you like this. Deciding to ignore him, you grabbed a change of clothes from your dresser and ducked into the bathroom. 

He knocked on the door and tried to talk to you through it. You wondered if he would eventually leave or if he planned to follow you around. If he was here, he probably intended to stick to you like glue. 

As his best friend, you considered yourself a Mokuba Kaiba expert. His persistence was legendary. And when you were mad at him, that same persistence was annoying.

Once you changed, you opened the bathroom door and glared at Mokuba. “Can’t you just let me be mad at you? You deserve it.” 

“Can we postpone you being mad until tomorrow?” 

You put both your hands on your hips as you glared at him. He smiled back at you, trying to use his charm against you.

His charm didn't work on you. It just made you angrier. 

The two of you faced off in silence. Then you stomped your foot. "No!"

“Can you at least pretend to like me when Machiko shows up?” 

“She’s not coming over.” 

He held up your phone with an apologetic smile. “Now she is.” 

You threw your dirty work clothes at him. They weren't heavy and did no damage, but they were all you had. “You’re the worst. I hate you.” 

“You love me.”

“You need boundaries.” You snatched your phone from his hand and gathered up your thrown clothes. 

"I am sorry for using you like this, and you know I wouldn't if I weren't really really worried about Seto."

"Don't pull that card on me, Mokuba!" You hurled your clothes into your hamper. "You need boundaries there, too! Your brother is a grown ass adult." Your phone began buzzing, and you looked down to see Machiko's name on the screen. "Hello?"

"Oh, hi, I'm at the front door. I wasn't sure where to go. Am I too early?"

"No. I'll be right down." You hung up. Your tone had been snappy, and you half-hoped she would just ditch your rude butt. To Mokuba, you said, "She won't make it." 

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Just put on your shoes."

You gave him the finger as you opened the closet and pulled out a pair of sandals. It didn't matter what you wore if Mokuba got his way, and Mokuba always got his way.

He linked his arm with yours as the two of you left the apartment. "I promise I'll make it up to you!"

There was nothing he could do to make this up to you, especially if Kaiba and Machiko began dating. 

You played nice as the two of you met up with Machiko at your front door, and Mokuba persuaded her to agree to dinner at his mansion. Well, he just refused to accept a no and herded both of you into his car. You opted to sit in the backseat, and Machiko joined you. 

"Do you feel like you're getting kidnapped yet?" You tried to sound like you were teasing Mokuba as you asked the question. From the way Mokuba met your eyes in his rear view mirror, you knew he caught the dig. 

"Um…" Machiko looked from you to Mokuba. She didn't seem to want to answer the question. Then she whispered, “Did I crash a fight or date?”

“EW!” Both you and Mokuba had the same reaction, almost exactly in unison. 

“She’s my sister,” he said. 

“We would never date,” you added. 

She gave you a half-grin. “I’m not sure I believe that.” 

You shrugged. You and Mokuba were used to this. People often refused to believe that the two of you weren’t dating and had never been together. Neither of you cared at this point if anyone believed it. You decided to be somewhat honest with her. “I’m just mad that Mokuba thinks he can just make us eat dinner at his place.” 

“You know my chef makes the best food, and it’s FREE! How can anyone top that?”

You frowned at Mokuba. Free food wasn’t something that you wanted to turn down, but you didn’t want to witness the birth of Setchiko. Or would they be Machto? Mato? Setiko? Ugh. You folded your arms and stared out of the window, wishing that this night would just end already.  

For his part, Mokuba kept Machiko busy for the rest of the drive by asking her invasive questions about herself. She only answered a few of them, and you could understand why she’d initially told Mokuba she was too busy to hang out with him. He seemed like a total creep when he spoke to her. 

You felt obligated to let her know that Mokuba was only interested in her as a potential date for his brother. You also wanted to be sure that she never ever saw any Kaiba in a romantic light. Trying to fulfil both objectives seemed impossible. 

Once Mokuba pulled up to the mansion, you pushed your way into the conversation. “I’m sorry that Mokuba doesn’t have any boundaries with people. If it helps, I don’t think he’s planning on killing you so he can stuff your body tonight.” 

Machiko’s alarmed expression indicated that your joke had been a bit too much. 

“Sorry. Too much. I just meant that Mokuba doesn’t know how to be friendly without being too friendly.” 

“I do NOT!” Mokuba interjected. 

You shook your head. “So delusional. It’s the price of being rich and famous. People let you get away with acting like a weirdo.” 

You could tell that Mokuba was muttering to himself in the front seat, but you couldn’t make out any of the words. You grabbed the back of his seat, leaning forward. “What was that, Mokie-poo?” 

“I hate you.”

“Same though.” You sat back in your seat, grinning at Machiko. “I bet you’ll never want to hang out with us again.” And she would think twice before dating Kaiba. Maybe. 

“No, of course not.” Her tone didn’t convey certainty. She couldn’t even make eye contact. You did feel some regret over alienating someone who seemed nice, but you weren’t really in the market for new friends anyway. 

Then Mokuba pulled into the driveway for his mansion. “I’m sure Machiko will forgive us when she realizes that you’re just in a bad mood tonight.” 

“I wonder why that would be?” 

“I APOLOGIZED.” 

You just rolled your eyes. Luckily the car was coming to a stop, and you stayed silent as you waited for Mokuba to park. The moment the car stopped, you jumped out, leaving the door open behind you. 

You checked out the area as you walked toward the front doors. It was impossible to tell if Kaiba was already home. You didn’t know if you wanted to see him at dinner or if you hoped that he would forget about dinner with Mokuba. 

Well, Seto Kaiba never forgot anything, but you could still see him losing track of time if something interesting came up. 

Behind you, Mokuba was apologizing to Machiko for your poor manners. You turned to look at him. “Are you going to give her a proper tour?” 

“I thought she might be interested in Seto’s card collection!” Mokuba entwined his arm with Machiko’s and tugged her over toward the doors. “I hear you’re really good!” 

You pushed the doors open as the two of them joined you and listened to Machiko protest that she really wasn’t any good at the game at all. 

“Didn’t you win some tournament in England?” 

“Oh. Um, how did you know that? I’ve never competed outside of the U.K...” 

Wanting to embarrass Mokuba, you answered for him, “He googled you. I think he has a crush.” Then you stopped in your tracks as Seto Kaiba turned the corner. 

“Seto!” Mokuba called out. “Hey! You’re already home!” 

Kaiba hesitated as he looked at you and then Machiko. He looked back in the opposite direction before walking over to join your group. “Didn’t I mention that I would be working from home today?” 

“I must have forgot!” Mokuba’s voice was too loud to be sincere, and from the way Kaiba raised his eyebrow, you didn’t think he was fooled either. “Well, I invited my friend, Machiko, over because she’s super good at Duel Monsters, and I wanted to show off your collection!” Mokuba pushed Machiko toward his brother. “I dunno if you’ve met her?”

“Mokuba,” Kaiba warned, “You pushed her on me just the other day.” 

“Really?” Mokuba’s eyes widened. “Huh. Did I mention she’s the English champ?” 

Machiko took a step back. “That’s definitely not true. I’m not sure where you heard that at all.” 

You tried to tell yourself that you reached for Machiko’s hand because you felt sorry for the poor girl. Kaiba wasn’t holding back as he glared at Mokuba, and Machiko didn’t seem interested in being forced on a stranger. So of course you rescued her from the situation. “I haven’t had a thing to eat all day. Machiko, didn’t you say you were hungry?”

She squeezed your hand. “Yeah! Starving.” 

“We’ll meet you guys in the kitchen.” You smiled at Kaiba. “Nice seeing you.” Then you led Machiko down the halls in the direction of the kitchens. 

Once the two of you were far enough away, you released her hand. “Sorry about Mokuba. I tried to tell him you didn’t want to be set up with his brother.” 

“It’s, um…” She looked down at the carpet as she walked with you. “Did I give Mokuba the wrong impression somehow? He seems to have some misunderstanding about… a lot.” 

You didn’t know what to tell her.  “So you’re not a ranked duelist?” 

She made a face and stopped walking. “I mean… kind of. Are you into the game?” 

“Not really.” You shrugged. “I tried but… I dunno. Building a good deck is a lot of work.”

“Yeah. That’s true.” She studied you for a moment. “But if you’re friends with the Kaibas, I bet you’re more into it than you’re admitting to me.” 

“She’s pretty garbage at it.” 

You turned to glare at Mokuba. That teasing comment would have been cute on any other day, but today he was your nemesis.  Then your glare landed on Kaiba and disappeared. 

Machiko tried to protest that you weren’t garbage. Her protesting caught Kaiba’s attention. “I doubt you’ve ever seen her duel.” 

She frowned. “Well, no, but–”

“Then you don’t know anything about how good or bad she is at it.” 

You flinched at his sharp tone. Machiko continued to frown at him. 

Kaiba didn’t wait for a response. “Mokuba tells me that you will be joining us for dinner. Make no mistake, I didn’t agree to a double date.” 

“Seto!” Mokuba stomped his foot. 

Machiko took a step back, and her lips curled up in a snarl. “Don’t flatter yourself.” 

Then Mokuba moved to stand between them. “Behave, Seto. Machiko is our friend, and we invited her to hang out.” 

“And I told your brother no.” Machiko reached out to take your hand. “I’m only here for her.” 

Kaiba looked at Machiko’s hand as she entwined her fingers with yours. Then he looked at Mokuba. The two brothers stared each other down, and you felt like they were having a silent conversation. 

“If you insist,” Kaiba said, and you couldn’t tell if the comment was directed at Mokuba or Machiko. Then he stormed off in the direction of the kitchen. 

“I think he wants us to follow him.” Mokuba took a few steps in the same direction. 

Machiko didn’t follow, and she kept her grip on your hand. “Honestly, Mokuba, I think it would be better if I went home.” 

Mokuba shook his head. “Don’t! He’s just grumpy with new people. He’ll get over it.” Then he gave you his puppy eyes. “Tell her!” 

Inside, all you could think was that Mokuba Kaiba was still the worst friend. You knew he would be upset if you didn’t convince Machiko to stay. With a sigh, you squeezed her hand. “That’s not really true. Seto Kaiba is always grumpy, but I’d like you to stay.” 

She frowned. “Fine. Ok.” 

Mokuba’s grin was far too wide for the situation. You tried to think of ways he could make this up to you later as the three of you walked to the kitchen. 

The Kaiba Mansion had a huge kitchen. It was bigger than the kitchens in a lot of restaurants, but most of the kitchen remained unused on a normal day. However, the Kaiba brothers often ate in there, and you found Kaiba sitting at the tall bar facing the kitchen itself. Their chef was leaning on the bar and speaking with Kaiba in a low voice. 

Kaiba had positioned himself at the very edge of the bar so there would only be room for one person to sit next to him. You hurried into that seat, feeling quite bold but not wanting Machiko to end up sitting there. Machiko sat on the other side of you, and instead of sitting down gracefully, Mokuba walked up behind you. 

“Don’t you think you’d rather sit elsewhere?” he asked, trying to avoid being too obvious and failing. 

You knew that Kaiba was looking at you, but you refused to glance his way and didn’t know how he was reacting to this. “Nope.” You would give the seat up to Mokuba, but he would just try to force Machiko into it. 

“Just sit down, Mokuba. It’s your own fault for bringing your stray cat to dinner.” 

You knew Kaiba was talking about you, and if he were friendlier, you would have stuck your tongue out at him or made a face. As it was, you tried not to look his way. 

Should you feel pleased that he didn’t mind sitting next to you? It was a conundrum. 

Mokuba huffed all the way over to the seat on the other side of Machiko. Then he began asking her about herself. His voice carried through the kitchen as he asked her pointed questions about Duel Monsters and her time in England. One of the maids brought over a bottle of wine. “As you requested, Master Mokuba.” She poured four glasses and offered them to everyone. 

“Could I get some water?” you asked. 

“Oh, me too!” Machiko agreed. 

Kaiba put his wine glass down near the far edge of the counter. “Where is my tea?” 

“Right away.” The maid curtsied and turned to get the rest of the drinks. 

“C’mon! The chef picked this out for our meal!” Mokuba’s whining made him the center of attention as the rest of you looked his way. 

“Then I’ll drink some with the meal.” You didn’t know if you would follow through on that promise, but you had no intention of drinking alcohol with an empty stomach. You called out to the chef, “Yoshihiro, please tell me there’s an appetizer or something? I’m so hungry.”

Their chef called out for his assistant to take over at the stove, and then began going through the industrial refrigerator. “I apologize that dinner isn’t ready yet. Someone changed the time on me at the last minute.” 

“Yeah. He did that to me too.” You glared at Mokuba. “He dragged me over here right after work.” 

“You guys really didn’t have plans together?” Machiko looked at you and then Mokuba and back at you again. 

“Nah. I like to live in the moment!” 

You rolled your eyes at Mokuba’s declaration. “I would have made time to eat something at some point during my shift if I’d known you would starve me.” 

Then a bowl landed on the counter next to you, and you looked over to see Kaiba sitting back down next to you. He’d grabbed a bowl of edamame and was now eating some. He caught you staring and pushed the bowl toward you with a raised eyebrow. Famished, you began eating as well. 

You could hear Mokuba asking Machiko if she had a part time job, too, but you didn’t hear her response. 

“Mokuba tells me that midterms are over.” Kaiba kept his voice down, but you heard every word he said. 

You took a moment to make sure you swallowed all the food in your mouth. “Yes.” Did you have more to say? Why couldn’t you talk to this man? “I think Mokuba probably aced all the tests.” 

“Hm.” Kaiba reached for another edamame, and you watched as he popped open the shell. “How are you performing in your classes?” 

You wanted to melt into your seat with joy. “Well, I’m not as smart as Mokuba, but good. I think they’re going good.” You cringed as you replayed everything you just said in your head. “I mean, I’ve been studying, and I think I understand everything.”

“You wouldn’t want to lose your scholarship.” 

“Yeah, that’s true,” you agreed.

“Oh, you have a scholarship?” Machiko asked, joining your conversation with Kaiba. “You must be smart! Those are hard to get.”

Mokuba chimed in, “She’s really smart! Right, Seto?”

Kaiba scoffed. “Not having trouble with the act of breathing doesn’t make someone smart.” 

You could see Mokuba roll his eyes even from your seat. “She’s smart,” he assured Machiko. 

“We should talk classes. Maybe we can get in some of the same ones next semester? I’d love a study buddy.” Machiko smiled, and then she noticed the dish of edamame. “Oh. May I?” Without waiting for a response, she leaned over you to grab one, but Kaiba pulled the bowl toward himself and out of her reach. 

She frowned but didn’t say anything to him. Instead, she leaned further into your lap, and turned her face to you so her nose was almost touching yours. “Maybe I should just order some food for us?” 

Kaiba stood up and his stool screeched against the floor. “Mokuba, just go out with your girlfriends. We can have dinner some other time.” 

“But Seto, you promised!” Mokuba whined. 

Kaiba didn’t respond, and Mokuba followed him as he strode out of the kitchen. Machiko stayed where she was and reached over to pull the bowl of edamame back. 

“So which Kaiba are you in love with?” she asked as she plucked one of the edamame pieces out of the bowl. 


End file.
